FIX: Insiders not able to switch channels - **UPDATED 8/3/2021**

Anonymous
2021-08-02T18:50:42+00:00

Hello Windows Insiders!

Windows 11 is now in the Beta Channel, and some of you are wanting to move over from the Dev Channel. We've been getting some reports that some of you are not seeing the options to change in Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program. We have a fix that should get you back on track. Please note, this fix is for devices that are not showing the Choose your Insider Settings and Windows Insider account settings, as in the image below.

If you are seeing this, please follow the steps below to restore the missing options:

  1. If you have Bitlocker enabled, please suspend it.
  2. Click Start
  3. In the search box, type cmd
  4. In the lower right of the search results, under Command Prompt, click Run as Administrator
  5. On the UAC prompt, click OK
  6. At the elevated command prompt, type: bcdedit /set flightsigning on
  7. Press Enter
  8. At the elevated command prompt, type: bcdedit /set {bootmgr} flightsigning on
  9. Press Enter
  10. Reboot the device

You should now see the missing options:

If performing these steps to not resolve your issue, please file a new feedback item in Feedback Hub, so we can investigate.

Thank you!

-The Windows Insider Team

Windows Insider program | Windows Insider preview | Install, activate, and Windows update

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments

164 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Deleted

    This answer has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The answer was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.


    Comments have been turned off. Learn more

  2. Anonymous
    2021-09-09T17:35:43+00:00

    للاسف لايزال المشكل قائما

    نتمنى منكم ايجاد حل وفتح الحسابات مرة أخرى

    <Translated using Edge>

    unfortunately, the problem still exists.

    we hope you find a solution and open the accounts again

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Johnny55 5,155 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-09-07T00:03:15+00:00

    Again, isn't this something the Insider Team can do by using my email address (my Microsoft account) and setting my participation to Beta? We were able to do that in 06 so I assume it's only gotten better since. Or one would hope.

    If you can address the last issue I'd appreciate it.

    Hello Richard,

    That is something that is not possible to do. Like yourself, we are all Insider volunteers trying to help others with any issues as there is no official support. We are not MS.

    Another example of this is the verify issue. This was fixed by MS back with build .71. Some are still facing this. They refuse to start fresh, so not much one can do. I have done over 30 clean installs in past couple months in the 8 vm's and couple spare laptops. It verifies the account every time. Originally had same issue.

    Did a clean install again today, to my surprise, all 3 channels were open and selectable. Put this one in Release Preview as have not heard that was officially done other than for commercial.

    This just might be the best way for you going forward. You can also run W11 without joining Insider if you prefer, you still get the CU updates, but not all the Store updates as in new Snipping Tool. They will all come after Oct 5th if not sooner. I personally have found doing the upgrade from W10, system never worked as well compared to the clean.

    A clean install takes me about 7-10 minutes to run. only use a few programs on test machines so after setting my preferences, winrar, an uninstaller and a utility program, said and done in under 30 minutes. Faster than doing a major build upgrade.

    On the working desktop, even though all data is stored on secondary drives, it can take me days to install everything I use. Especially the big stuff such as Autocad and Photoshop, Office etc.

    I highly recommend going this route, you have already spent enough time on this issue. Nothing ever beats a clean install to get system working at its peak. The Insider Beta ISO of 22000.132 most likely be the same as Release ISO as MS did with 21H1. They will only compress install.wim to install.esd for MCT so consumers can fit on flash cards. Have already done that for bootable flash. One can split the install.wim file as well to fit on flash FAT32.

    Good luck on whatever you decide. Take care.

    Regards,

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2021-09-06T23:12:50+00:00

    Thanks, Johnny. I did an entire RESET a few weeks ago so I'm not sure what difference it would make to install from an ISO. I could try it - I have disk space. It would be interesting if I could change it in the new install, then boot into the current install to see if it picked up the changes.

    As for using Dev builds, I used to work on a TAP team as the lead for Windows ro drive adoption within MS-IT, so I know the drill. I generally don't use a production machine for those builds. However, with Win10, the core codebase was solid, so changes rarely created needing anything more than the occasional Roll Back. Even then, before every upgrade, I run a disk clone just in case.

    With Win11 that was the main reason I wanted to switch channels as recommended. However, I can't. I should note that I'm not the only one reporting the exact same problem - all channels show up but you can't change from the one you're in, to another.

    Again, isn't this something the Insider Team can do by using my email address (my Microsoft account) and setting my participation to Beta? We were able to do that in 06 so I assume it's only gotten better since. Or one would hope.

    If you can address the last issue I'd appreciate it.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  5. Johnny55 5,155 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-09-06T16:02:11+00:00

    Hello Richard,

    In your case as all normal fixes are not working, suggest first trying an in-place upgrade with the Beta ISO. Mount the ISO in windows and run setup.exe. You can get Security updates for Defender directly in the App itself.

    If the in-place upgrade does not fix whatever is corrupt with your system, suspect your only alternative is to total clean install W11 deleting all partitions and start new. Ensure you backup all important files first, preferably off system to external drive.

    You should not have been using Dev builds on working computers for daily use. At a minimum, if one does, at least have an image backup of your system prior to joining Insider program. This is all clearly stated in the Insider Agreement that most users never bother to read.

    Regards,

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments